'After his warm and affectionate farewell speech, the Chief of Staff of the formation asked me, "So, now you are off to Coorg to look after your coffee estates?"' For the last time, in Army uniform and much to his surprise, I replied, "Sir, I am not from Kodagu.".'
General K S Thimayya served as chief of the army staff from 1957 to 1961.
'If only Cariappa/Thimayya/Chaudhari/Manekshaw were given a free hand, there'll be no PoK, the Chinese would have been taught a lesson, 1965 would have slain the Pak demon and in 1971 just another fortnight's fighting after Bangladesh and West Pakistan would have been occupied.' 'No authoritative military account suggests anything remotely like any of these...' '...Chronologies, names, even periods get mixed up, but, never mind, because the point -- strong Army denied by cowardly Congress -- is made.' 'This is where Modi is coming from,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
The time has come to recommend Field Marshal Cariappa for the award of Bharat Ratna. If others can get it, I see no reason why he should not,' the army chief said.
Kovind, aged 76, was sworn in as the 14th President of India on 25 July, 2017.
'Modi-Shah have understood the risks their cynical mixing of domestic political motivations with strategic national interests was soon going to become counterproductive asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Modi said that the JD-S was going to finish a "poor, distant third".
The defence minister has to correct a major asymmetry. Will his discipline come in the way?
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'Like General Patton, possibly the greatest exponent of the art of war, Vajpayee had the ability to be always on the offensive,' assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
Sylvia Dyer's life began nearly 90 years ago in a forgotten, untamed land. She spent her childhood on a plantation on the Bihar-Nepal border in pre-Independent India, lived through the '65 war as the wife of a decorated army officer and saw an era grow and fade in front of her eyes.
'She was the only prime minister who won a decisive military victory.' 'She won a real war; she didn't play video games on prime time TV over surgical strikes!' 'She understood power better than any other politician, saw it as her birthright and used it with inborn expertise.' 'Every politician today who tries to be a "supremo" through populism and absolute control over his or her party is referring to the Indira Gandhi playbook!'
'He deserved to be field marshal because he carried the air force and navy with him in '71. Remember we were fighting on two fronts -- east and west. He stood out.'
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